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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, i 



UNITED STATES OF AMERKA. 





THE 



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Henry Blmer ^tickney 



^^ / OF CO/v<j: . 

MAIf 14 1890 




NEW YORK 

THE WALTER MORRIS PUBLISHING COMPANY, 130 EIGHTH AVENUE 



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DEDICATED TO MY MOTHER. 



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PuBLIgHEP,S' PfjEFACE 



hi presetdhnj this poem (o the pat,Uc, we here take 
inh-dutatjc of till opi>,>rtiii,ilii to e.rpre.ss imrse/res, <(s iretl 
as to set the reoi/rr arnjht. 

This heaiitiful/i/ coiislnu-le^t and hajhtij iiinajliiatire 
poem, suhlimc in its siniplifilij and ijraiid in its pnrltij, 
ccuaefrom the busi/ pen nf a ijomnj antlna- n-hn is fast as- 
cending to thnt position attained unli/ lii/ ftii/lils '>/' i/cnins. 
This pneni is ivartlnj of Ihr highest consideration, and, j 

anioinj irlaiterer Coinininiiti/ it niaij jind its iraij, iril' 
have there a Instiiaj impression. The author Inis pleas- 
i»gh/ delineated, lii/ jiersani/ication, life from its origin to 
its terininiis — carrijing irith it eril and holiness, side by 
side, through all stages until tli.e end comes, when the ' 

reward IS giceii. 

We feil jnstijied in saying that this p,„'in a- it I knock i 

and gain entrance to the hearts of thonsands. and there lie 
received and cherished iritli as ivarm affections as it 
tvas received by i 

THE PUBLISHERS. 

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THE HOLY FLiiWER. 




The floi;^ PloWc^i'. 




A heautfous plant calird \hv Iluly FImwlm 
('(.iite-nteil it dwelt in tlie loivst o-hide. 

Iter skirt, uli.-re tlie maples" slia,: 
) ^ 1 )is].layed their iinai;-e .ni the verdant j;'ivei 
*2^ And solitude lingei'ed in eveiT scene. 
As pnre as the Imur that a\v<ike its hirtii. 
It nursed the l.usuni of its mother, Karth ; 
The ni-ht winds nourished with tender eare, 
And fed it witli dew at the day's repair. 
And its o-erm was warmed with a i;enial tire, 



And it blossomed to meet the world's <lesire. 




IKSSAGE OP LOVE ITS FRAOKANC'I 



It lent its |icrfnine to the inrirning hreeze, 
And itsl.irtli \v;is lieralded tliroiigli tlie trees; 
And over the meadow and tliroui:;li tlie dell, 
Like a message of love its frayranee fell. 
It wed a sweet smile to the mourning- stream, 
Awoke the forest from its somlire dream ; 
And all that haunted the ].rimeval hower. 
Welcomed the l.irth of the IIolv Flower. 

How oft have I wandered, when sun of ease 
Sifted its radianre down through the trees. 
To the silent l)ower, whei-e its fragrance sweet. 
Like an angel's ,-ar,.l, came forth to meet 
A vagrant v<.uth, who. disg,,rge<l tVoni sin. 
Found a paradise and was ushered in. 
And inan.v enigma its presence told ; 
The curtain of mysterv was u|)i-olled, 
And I saw, through nnsts of decdiidng years, 
The goal of amhition, thelull of fears. 
As a beacon <d' hope through Sorn.w's gloom, 
Teach mortals to hear the cross t(, the t.unh. 
Thus I connnuned with the lieauk-ous Fl.iwer, 
That dwelt in the sha.les (d' the forest Lower, 
Until day wouhl its last amusement wean, 
And the curtain of night shut mit the scene. 



Life tlieii was sweet I hefore Affliction soii-'lit 
To ml) Existenee of its Ininihle lot, 
Or Melaiieliuly limited ilowu its ju'ey. 
And desolate returned each fruitless day. 
Life then was sweet 1 for remittance of care 
Was pleasure and nierriment everywhere ; 
And happiness ended as joy beiiiin. 
And Miss remained after the settini;- sun. 
For when the day slmnhered in Darkness' arms. 
The nii;-ht would disclose her numerous charms. 
11, ,w oft have J pansed at the twili-lit hour, 
Ashomewanl 1 came from the forest Lower, 
To eatch the sweet notes of the whip-poor-will. 
Or solve the mystical son- of the rill. 
And there, as I've stoo.l at the door of ni-ht 
An<l listened and --a/.ed on the fadin- si-'ht, 
Throu-h the -ate of .lay that was left ajar. 
Sh,,ne the round, tull moon from the eastern ha 
.\nd seemiii- to smile as the darkness run, 

Till within the caves under nu'k and -r.MUul 
AVas the only place that it could he found. 
And the mists n.se up from the river's hcd. 
And its snow-wliite wings were silently spread ; 




F THE HILL. 



Over the meadow and ovur the. dale, 
Itgraccfidly liuui;- like a l.ridal veil; 
Till fair Dream of Luve spread her mantle o'er 
The deep solitude that everythini;- wore. 

The heauteons Flower in the forest deep 
Its petals had closed in a l)lissfid slee[). 
Tims, thron-h the Snmmer, l.y ni.-lit and hy day, 
The king.lom was fragrant, tlie tenants --ay, 
Save the Nettle that g-rew close by its side, 

" Von ai-e loved," said he, " for yonr lieauty showi 

And I am despised for my name alone. 

ihit we shall fall as t.>-ether we dwell, 

The bell that nnited shall toll our knell ; 

For the frosts will eonie and the cold winds blow, 

And we'll perish alike heneath the snow." 

Yet the Flower said nan,i;lit, but smiled with love, 

And lifted its an;i-eli<' eyes above ; 

And seeming to say, in a silent jM-ayer : 

"O, life evei'lastino- awaits us there. 

Thy Father's commandments fultill below, 

And fear not the wind, and di'ead not the snow, 

But follow the path that thy Saviour trod, 

And trust in the "lorious words of (bid " 




IK|.;r SOI.ITUMK 'I'llAI' lOVEHVIlIIXC WORI- 



As tVi.. SuiniiKT wiin.Ml ;um1 the Aut.nun st(MMi. 
Rea.ly to cul.ir the lawn mid the w<io.l, 
To (k-.-k tlie forests aii-l to trim tl>- -lades 
With the rieliest ,.f melaiicholv sha<U-s, 
Witli liis hoinid and his -un a huiitsinau eaaie, 
Throu-h tliieket ard nook in pursuit of o-anie ; 
l'„U the day was l.leak and the air was cldlK 
And the pheasant and. hare had left the hill. 
To a wanner <-linie in the h.wland went. 
Yet the Iniiitsnian searched and he seemed content. 
Thou-h his honnd in advance had lost the trail, 
An.l his voice was hushed, an-l the .piiet vale 
Bnum-ht not the sweet notes to the huntsman's ear, 
An<l all the dav Ion- until ni-ht .Irew near, 
r.v river and hill with a noiseless tread 
He lunl searched in vain, for the -anie had fled. 
Then the huntsman paused, in a pensive mood. 

At the outer skirt of the chan-in- w 1 : 

And scentin- the fragrance upon the air. 
The dying messa-e of the Flower so fair. 
Then he thought of the Autunni drawing near. 
And the hoary frosts that would all things sear ; 
And how Nature would change her verdant gown 
xVnd hrietly appear in her rol-e ..f hrown. 




^rn \Nn the autumn st 

THE I.AWN AND THE WOOD 



And how from lier slumbers some starless luglit, 
She'd awake to hehold herself in white. 
Theu he thought how his life was fleeting on, 
The Spring-time and Suunner past an.l gone ; 
And how that life's Autuimi wonld soon appear, 
And he, like the green, w.mld he wan and sere ; 
And the morrow w,.ul.l hnd him old and gray, 
And he, too. wouhl pass from the seene away. 
Then a still deeper thonght the Antumn gave 
Whieh earried the huiitsuuni beyond the grave. 
As into the mystical realm he leered, 
He pictured bliss, while he d(nd)ted and feared : 
Would his life, though just, and his conscience clear. 
Admit him to that celestial sphere ? 

His eyes grew dim, as he poiulered and thought : 
" How Nature to all a lesson has taught ; 
The numberless blessings it has unrolled, 
That the blind may see, though they can't behold. 
That the mute may speak, and the deaf may hear, 
AYith a silent tongue, and a useless ear. 
Though a solution s,.ught is but to fail. 
For Thy laws are deep and the brain is frail. 
And yet they are truths; but the reas,,n win- 
Is known to One that's far wiser than 1. 




KI'II<\1II) TUh (R\NDF1_U oi N\TtI!Fs (IIVKMS 



Thus the longer J look the hliiider 1 grow, 
And the (leei>er I search the less I know ; 
So ril seek no longer His mystical lore, 
r.ut trust in the Creator all the more." 
Then the huntsman's head sank down on his hreas 
And he slept in the forest, the sleep of rest. 
The night was ciiill, hut his simuher was sound, 
An.l the Hrst white frost cvered tree and ground. 
His dog lay silent, on guard at his feet, 
And his smiling face tol.l his dreams were sweet. 
When the nu.rrow hroke, and the faintest ray 
Procltiime<l to creation the hirth of day. 
All Nature awoke ere the night was done, 
Awaiting the kiss of the uuirning sun. 
But the green had inhaled a poisone<l hreath, 
Ami the longed-for kiss was the kiss of death. 
AVhen the huntsman arose the lawn was hrown. 
And the sered lea\es were tumhling down ; 
And the river mourned as it Lore away 
The first sad token of Summer's decay ; 
And the plachl lake in the Mountain's arms 
Repeated the graudeur of Nature's charms; 
And the barren branches swayed to and fro, 
As the new-born zephyrs came soft and low, 




I'HIi FI.DWKI! WAS MliSi;] 
WITH A TEXDEli t'AKIO Tl 



\ 



Out fruni thfir luunits in a mystical sjijiciv, 
To hles.s all ereatirm, huth far and near. 

That he tarried h.ng, for las ,sonl wlien there 
Was nearer tlie realm of eternal rest 
Than ever l)efore was its spirit hlest. 

And there, as he stood in the forest hower, 
He saw through the trees this l.eauteous KI,,wl 
With its head hent low, and its ehhiiig life 
Told it was eomjuered in a nohle strife. 
Yet ereet stoo.l the Nettle elose hv his hi'ide. 
And gloated over how s(,on slie had died ; 
P.ut soon came his harvest, evillv sown— 
And lies where he fell in the w,,ods alone. 

A savior was near in that holy hour, 
A savior had eonie for his fallen Flower ; 
And he h<.re it up from its lowlv hed. 
And hastened awav with his saered .lead. 
Out from the thicket, and over the hill, 
Across the meadow, and over the rill, 
Down through the orchard and up through the 
The savior, the huntsman, was h(,me again. 
The Flower was nur.sed in the warmth and ligh 
With a tender care tlirough the dav an.l night. 



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* * AND THE TEMPLE IS DARK AND COLD, 

AND THE SPIKIT BOKNE To THE HEAVENLY FdLl 



Until ik-atli ha.l witlulniwu. an.l life Mini l.looni 
Closed the sombre gate of an empty tomli. 

now often I have lieanl the huntsman tell 
Of the Flower he foiuMl in the wuudM dell, 
When the fro^t had c.me an<l the m.>rn was chill 
II. ,w he bore it home o'er meadow and hill ; 
How it hhK.med afresh when the morrow came, 
Like the mortal sold, when the holy tlanie 
Is ,inenche<l, and the temple is dark and cold, 
And the spirit home to the heavenly fold : 
For theimre, like the Flower, liveth twice — 
On Earth, and tVirever in Paradise. 




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HoUinger Corp. 
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